Chinese Cabbage Stir Fry

This is one of the most common easy stir fry dish on my table- Chinese style spicy and sour cabbage stir fry. The Chinese name for this easy cabbage stir fry dish is hand torn cabbage (手撕包菜). You many wonder why it should be hand tearing? Not cutting? Hand shredding can help to remove the tough part of the cabbage and keep the natural grains of the cabbage leaves. We cook the cabbage in a very short time and this type of quick frying can remain the crispy taste of the cabbage.

If you happens to have Sichuan peppercorn and black vinegar at home, this is really a must try dish. Making this at home is so easy but it comes out super great and yummy. In my mind, it is the best way to cook cabbages.

Cook’s Note

Heat your wok or pan at first before adding the oil. Since we are doing a quick frying, we need enough hot kept by the wok. Take full usage of the wok heating by moving the cabbage around the wok.

The cabbage should be completely drain before frying. Only water on the leaves can spoil the dish by turning quick frying process into steaming or poaching.

You can also add some protein in this recipe like bacon, pork belly or sausage.In order to make sure that the flavor is well absorbed by the cabbage, drain the leaves completely before frying.Recipe is firstly published in 2014 and updated in 2018.

It’s like you read my mind….I have half a cabbage sitting in the fridge and I was wondering what to make with it!! I have everything other than the sichuan peppercorns so I’m off to make this right now 🙂

Hello and thank you for sharing this – I’ve had this a few times at a local restaurant in London that specialises in Sichuan province dishes . Apologies if you have already covered this but you mention “drain them completely” – do you blanch the cabbage in any way or do you hand shred it and add it to the wok raw?

Hi Tom,
I hand shred the cabbage. I mean after washing and shred the cabbage, you need to drain them otherwise the water will influence the taste in stir fry process, mainly reducing the absorption of the spices and seasonings.

Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! It is one of my favorites as it is inexpensive, filling and healthy. I was very happy to have a Chinese colleague ask if I was eating Chinese style, when he saw me eating it!

Thank you very much for teaching us how to cook Chinese food. I am an American living in China, and the food here is so much better than the Chinese restauants I grew up with in Ohio. So i want to learn as much about Chinese food cooking as i can while i live here. I use your website often, so i wanted to let you know that it is successful and very much appreciated.

Good simple dish…The great thing about this recipe is that most of the ingredients you should have in your kitchen and cabbage is a vegetable that can last long in the fridge so it is a dish i can plan to have later in the week after doing all my grocery shopping…..

Hi Elaine,
I live in Toronto and have been following your site and made a lot of your recipes. They are excellent, thanks so much! A friend brought me Sczwchuan peppercorns from China and I love using them, they do give a unique and lovely flavour. Even if you bite into them in the stir fry, they are delightfully tasty!

Thanks Patricia! Yes, Sichuan peppercorn is a very unique spice with a charming numbing feeling. It goes great with meat and vegetables. Happy cooking and I look forward to continuously hear good news from you.

Lovely recipe, thanks so much. I saw this served with lunch boxes at a roast meat stall and it looked great – but I didn’t get the chance to try it because I bought my meats by the pound. I’m so glad to have a good recipe so I can enjoy it.

Elaine, the reason people keep asking you about draining the cabbage is that you do not refer to washing or salting the cabbage. You only mention shredding it – which doesn’t cause moisture to form. I too am wondering, do you wash the cabbage after shredding it or just salt it?

And by the way, the cabbage in your foto looks torn, but not shredded. Shredded means it ends up in small strips, not large pieces.

Chinese Pantry

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